sanda sunday

...some time before we arrived in japan, asian access began cultivating a network of relationships with like-minded churches in the kansai (osaka-kobe-sanda) area...one vital and vibrant church in this network is new community church, pastored by makio kodaira sensei, a rising christian leader in japan...

...new community church itself consists of a network of churches, spearheaded by the mother church (nishinomiya chapel) and its two church plants located in strategic suburbs in kansai (sanda chapel and gakuentoshi chapel)...

...two weeks ago, we were officially welcomed at the mother church....today, with minoru and yoko, we went to sanda where we were again warmly welcomed and honored by the members of sanda chapel (while we were glad to be here, we sorely missed our dear family at gakuentoshi chapel!)...



...about sanda chapel: it is comprised of four house churches that meet altogether about once a month in this community center...

...the view from across the street (rice fields framed by bamboo-carpeted mountains) tells you that sanda is more country than city...

...the house churches meet separately in homes the other three weeks of the month...a relatively young church plant, sanda chapel's members are nonetheless strong and reflect the older and younger generations of japanese believers...praise God for what He's doing in and through the believers in sanda...

...following a spirited time of worship with our sanda brothers and sisters...

...there was a children's program of singing and learning...part of the time was set aside for the leaders and congregation to pray for them...so heart-warming...don't you just love it when children can take an active part in sunday service?!?...

...we were delighted to hear sue preach the word!...

...using david, esther, and daniel as examples from the old testament, sue preached on courageous and faithful living in light of the purposes of God (acts 13.22, 36)...megumi did a fantastic job translating the sermon into japanese...sue's dad was here to listen and learn from his daughter, a natural and gifted communicator...

...following service, a wonderful lunch was served, complete with traditional japanese desserts (gooey mochi swimming in warm sweet red bean sauce...trust us: it was good!)...the hospitality of sanda chapel was overwhelming and humbling...

...during lunch hour, members of each house church took turns introducing themselves to us...they were very gracious and welcoming...while members differed, what seemed evident was the common christian joy they shared in community...after those introductions, we came forward and -- with minoru translating -- both of us shared our testimonies...

...leaving sanda chapel, we praise God for this city on a hill...family names from this quiet countryside suburb -- like the matsuzakas (pictured below left) -- are being written in the Lamb's book of life...isn't each name a cause for jubilant celebration?...isn't each child, each mother, each father, worth our every effort, investment and prayer?...we firmly believe so...please join us in thanking God for his work in sanda and praying for God's work to continue in quiet and not-so-quiet ways...

... following sunday service at sanda chapel, we headed to pastor fuji's spacious house for a couple hours of fellowship, training, and ironing out the details of our language learning plan...

...what immediately caught my eye was this simple sign hanging on the window...

...like much of japan, pastor fuji's home reflects what's old and new about japan...accompanied by all the features of modern posh living, pastor fuji has steeped his home in the samurai tradition...

...and situated next to a deluxe wall air-conditioner is this kind of beautiful craftsmanship...

...pastor fuji proudly showed us his family's sign perched on the collar of the male samurai warrior gear...

...don't mess with pastor fuji: he is a former national karate champion (which in japan says something!)...no surprise, then, that when he calls a meeting, people show up and take note...

...we're pleased to report that we have an intensive and promising language learning schedule that lies ahead for the next three months...we will have a private teacher for the month of december, which, in turn, will hopefully dovetail into an intermediate small group class slated for january-march...as a gift and investment in our church planting work in gakuentoshi, our church is footing the entire cost for this aggressive schedule...we are honored and humbled by their outpouring and considerable investment...as we depend on God's strength and disciplining love, we will pledge our best efforts to our church planting team...as we asked them, we now ask for your prayers and accountability re our language learning...